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Michael Williams aired a claim in 2011. Our fact-check became a 2012 reader favorite (Austin American-Statesman photo, Jay Janner).
Michael Williams, a former member of the Texas Railroad Commission, ran for Congress in 2012 before being appointed Texas education commissioner. But a claim he made the previous year, while running for the U.S. Senate, fueled our readers' No. 8 favorite fact-check of 2012.
In an April 2011 tweet, Williams urged recipients to join him in seeking national policy encouraging all forms of energy production, writing: "Gas prices have gone up $2 since (Barack) Obama took office."
Williams accurately tracked gas prices on President Obama’s watch.
Yet we rated his statement Half True because it incorrectly implied the president was at fault; key factors driving gas prices are beyond any president’s control.
Our looks at claims by U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, and from a chain email landed 10th and 9th among readers. Those stories along with our check of Williams appear to the right.
We'll post the No. 7 reader favorite tomorrow.
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